


Could It Be Another Change

by percyyoulittleshit



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Post-Tartarus (Percy Jackson)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-18
Updated: 2016-03-18
Packaged: 2018-05-27 13:39:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6286825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/percyyoulittleshit/pseuds/percyyoulittleshit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Do you…well…I mean…I could give you a massage?” Annabeth was supposed to only give Percy a massage, but she ended up learning more about her actions and the actions of her friends had hurt him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Could It Be Another Change

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lesbabeths (nixy_stix)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nixy_stix/gifts).



> Tumblr prompt. This fic was inspired by a conversation I had with Emily about how Annabeth and others sometimes acted like if Percy was dumb, and this fic was born. This fic is also dedicated to my dear Emily, it's always a pleasure to talk with you.

Annabeth took a deep breath before letting her body fall into her bed. It had been five days since she and Percy got out of Tartarus, her body hadn’t stop aching ever since. She didn’t realize how badly Tartarus had affected her health until she tried her clothes and saw they all were a little too big on her, even her bras were a little big on her.

She felt tired all the time, but she was trying her best to go back to her life. She still trained on the mornings, she knew Jason was going easy on her and she hated it, she still was part of the night patrol with Percy, even if the others told them they should rest instead, but she couldn’t rest. Every time night came close, she felt the anxiety starting to creep under her skin, night time meant darkness and she couldn’t handle the darkness, not yet. Most of the nights she ended up sleeping on Percy’s cabin with the lights on, his cabin felt more comfortable than her own, her cabin was almost empty, having a lot of things distracted her while she worked, it had seemed like a good idea at the start of the quest, but now she ached for something that made her feel safe, and Percy and his cabin did.   

Another thing that had made her realize things had changed, was that nobody teased her when they saw her leaving Percy’s room in the mornings, the same Leo, who made a big joke about them sleeping on the stables, just smiled at her without comment or innuendos.

She took another deep breath, she wanted to sleep but Percy was still on patrol duty. It was already Hazel and Piper’s turn, but he tried to avoid sleep as much as she did, he was trying to tired himself so he would hopefully be tired enough to not have dreams, it didn’t work out. She stand of the bed, grabbed her night clothes and went to take a shower.

By the time she had changed and went to Percy’s room, he was already on his room waiting for her.

“I feel my back is going to be the end of me.” Percy said when he saw her enter his room.

“Ambrosia is not helping?”

“I feel like I’m a sip away from combustion.”

Annabeth made a face, she knew Percy’s pain was worse than hers, just remembering him laying on her arms, almost dying from all the Arais curses made her heart hurt. She couldn’t even think how bad the pain was for him.

“No matter how much time I spent on the sea, the pain just doesn’t go away.” He was laying on bed with his right arm over his eyes. “Piper tried to charmspeak me into not thinking about it but it only worked for a little.”

Annabeth sat on the end of the bed, if Percy had told someone else about his pain, then it was getting pretty bad, he usually didn’t complain when he was in pain. “Do you…well…I mean…I could give you a massage?”

“ _What_!?.”

“I mean, if you want.” His face was red but so was hers, she could feel the heat on her face. They have given each other light massages before, but they were usually just putting their hands on their shoulders and doing random circular movements, nothing big or intimate, but now, in his room, while they both were getting ready for bed, it was feeling intimate.

“Of course I want!” Percy said quickly raising from the bed to a sitting position. He cleared his throat. “I mean, yes, that would be nice.”

Annabeth laughed. “Okay, lay on your stomach.”

Percy started to move, but stopped and turned to looked at her. “Um…should I…you know…take my shirt off?”

Annabeth felt the heat coming back to her face. it was now her turn to clear her throat. “That would probably be better. I mean, for your muscles and all that.”

Percy snorted and gave her a sly smile. “For my muscles and all that?”

“Shut up and take off your shirt.”

Percy laughed and the tension between them dissolved. Annabeth felt a smile coming to her lips, seeing Percy laugh was a rare sight this days and she was glad she could see it, even if he was laughing at her expense. He took off his shirt and moved so he was resting on his stomach, his arms were crossed above his pillow and his head was resting on them.

She took a deep breath and moved so she was straddling him. Her hands started to move around his back, she could hear his little sighs of pleasure when she worked on a knot. She tried her best not to blush, when he moaned a little bit too loud when she worked on a spot on his shoulders, she could tell he was embarrassed by the way his neck had started to turn red. Other by the little sounds he made, they were in silence.

She took her time to study his back. She guessed he had lost muscle mass just like her, but the last time he had saw him shirtless was on the beach back in camp, but that boy was not the same boy that had greet her in New Rome. The muscles on his shoulders, the ones that showed he was a swimmer, weren’t as visible like before, and the scars on his skin showed he was a survivor.

“Did you meant it?” She was so focus on studying his back, she almost didn’t hear him.

“I meant what?” She stopped moving and looked at him, but his head was still half buried in the pillows.

“When you agreed with what Reyna said.” His voice was muffled because of the pillows, but she could still hear the vulnerability on it.

“Perce, I need you to be more specific.”

She could hear him take a deep breath. “When Reyna said that I couldn’t find my way out of a paper bag without you.”

Annabeth felt like if someone had crushed her heart. “No, _no._  Oh Percy, of course I didn’t mean it.”

“I know I am not as smart as you, or Jason or Reyna, but, I try my best.” His voice was full of sadness, Annabeth felt a knot on her chest.

“Percy, no.” She get off his back and sat next to his head, but he still didn’t look at her. “You _are_ smart. I know it, Reyna knows it, everyone knows it.”

She let her fingers play with his hair, it didn’t feel as soft as it used to before Tartarus, another reminder of the impact that place had on them. “It was a joke, but it was a really bad one. I should have called her out on it instead of playing along.” She could feel his sadness and it was killing her. “Percy, please look at me.”

She had hurt him, even if she hadn’t intend to. She couldn’t believe she had been so stupid. She remember when Percy had told her about his childhood, how people called him stupid because of his dyslexia and ADHD. She remember feeling so angry at them, Percy was everything but dumb, he was not book smart like her, but he was smart. She knew he hated that people dumb him down, and she had been guilty of doing it while they were growing up, she had promised herself she would never make him feel that way again, but she had failed.

Percy stood off and put his shirt back on and then he sat in front of her, he was finally looking at her and Annabeth could see the pain in his eyes.

“ _You are not dumb_ , Percy. You have never been dumb. I’ve always know it, even if I acted like you were, and I’m truly sorry for making you feel that way.” She put her right hand on his cheek and she grabbed his hand with her free hand. “You lead us against Kronos, do you think the camp had followed you if we actually thought you were dumb? We know how smart you are, we do. And we shouldn’t act like you aren’t, even if it joking, it’s not okay, because we are hurting you.”

He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. “I know Reyna was trying to light the mood, but I wish it hadn’t be at my expense. I don’t mind the people joking about me, I just don’t like when they jokes are about my, according to them, lack of intelligence,” He signed. “It hurts when my girlfriend agrees with them.”

Annabeth kissed him softly. “I don’t think you’re stupid, Percy.  _I know you_ , I know how smart you are.” She kissed him again. “I’m sorry for making you feel stupid.”

He nodded and gave her a smile. “Thank you.” He slightly moved his face so he could give a small kiss to her hand resting on his face. “Sleep time?”

She gave him a small smile. “Sleep time.”


End file.
